carl cameron is in the town of sitzville, virginia. this race was not expected to be this tight and now why is it one of the closest races in the country? carl, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is a petri dish of what's happening, west virginia now perhaps more than anywhere else is going through what way get determined and called the obama effect. governor joe manchin is tremendously popular in this state, as governor, his approval ratings are in the mid to high 60s and he would easily be reelected governor had he chosen to do that, but with the death of bob byrd essentially forced his hand and now they're having a special election to fill his seat. john racy has run for office three times before in this state, twice for senate in the paand each time come up short. this time, however, the polls suggest this race is going to go right down to the wire, the latest from the public policy institute, a democratic leaning poll, suggests that it's a tossup but raese has a tiny lead and across the state it's the obama agenda and the